


Nightwing: The Rise of Flamebird

by WrittenByCee



Category: Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics), Nightwing (Comics)
Genre: Angst, Blood and Torture, Child Abuse, Child Death, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff, Kidnapping, Language, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Violence, mention of prostitution
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2019-04-04 04:38:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 19,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14012358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WrittenByCee/pseuds/WrittenByCee
Summary: Nightwing and Flamebird were two ancient Kryptonian gods, yet completely opposite.He was darkness and rebirth, tasked to hunt the evils in the shadows. She was fire and destruction, born to annihilate the creations of her mate, Vohc The Builder.Destined to fall in love and achieve great things but fated to be separated.That's the story Dick Grayson and Terry Olsen heard.Strange that it is also, somehow, their story.





	1. Bound by Time

There are moments in life you just can’t forget, moments that will always stand out in your mind. Crystal clear. You can remember every detail, even the most insignificant. You can remember it all. You can live them again. Precisely. As if they had just happened.

### Gotham City – Years Ago

“It should go without saying you’re grounded, young boy! But let me say it anyway. You’re grounded.” Mary Grayson’s usually sweet voice echoed in the entire trailer. She was so angry, so disappointed. “My Goodness, Dick! What were you thinking?”             
The little raven-haired boy lowered his eyes, ashamed and guilty. He couldn’t bear looking at her in her baby blue eyes now filled with tears of rage … but also relief. Motherly tears. “ And on my birthday.” She sighed, “You made me spend my birthday in a police station.”

The young boy apologized again and tried to defend himself but, from the first words, he knew he would not win this fight. He also knew that, deep down, he deserved to be grounded and that she had all the rights to react like that.      
He had screwed up. Badly. Again, he had run away with his circus friend, Raymond, to play that silly dangerous game of theirs: “parkour train racing”. And things had turned bad. A man, a guard, had almost died because of their shenanigans. “He is not pressing charges and …” Dick tried to say but his father cut him short. “No, Richard! Don’t even think you can’t just ignore what happened. Grow up a little and take responsibility for your actions. You can’t always move forward”     
Dick was sure the entire city had heard John Grayson yell at that precise moment. But it wasn’t the father’s deep voice that shook the son. It was his words. It was always his words.

John always treated Dick with a loving rigor, and raised him to be a great man while Mary was the overprotective mother, always considering his son a baby. Her baby robin. Still too young to face the outside world and leave the nest and her tender embrace.

“ Now give your mother her birthday gift!” His father shouted one last time before slamming the creaking metallic door of the trailer. “My what?”     
“Oh right.” He slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand. How could he have forgotten? He took a small box out of his jacket pocket and handed it to her. A strange place to hide a gift, but the best place he had found. The trailer wasn’t big and his mother was a bit of a cleanliness freak – a quality Dick hadn’t inherited – so he had been hiding her gift in his jacket since he suspected that here she would have found it one way or another.      
The mother gasped, touched by her son’s attention and opened the box. It was a gold bracelet with two birds engraved in the middle “They’re robins. I know how much you like them.” Mary smiled and let another tear roll along her cheek. But this time it was a tear of happiness. She kneeled and took her son in her arms, holding him tight against her chest. “Thank you, my little Robin.” Dick smiled as well and closed his eyes to enjoy that moment of tenderness. He wrapped his arms around the neck of his mother, smelling the delicate patchouli perfume of her long hair. “But you’re still grounded.” Dick laughed. “Okay, Mum.” It didn’t matter.

### Metropolis – The same night

 _“ … Tragedy strikes again in Gotham City as John and Mary Grayson, trapeze artists from the incredible family of acrobats known as the Flying Graysons, suddenly die during their performance tonight. Their son, Richard Grayson, …”_             
“ Diner’s ready!” The little girl didn’t look away from the TV, hypnotized by the screen, the images reflecting in her round red glasses with tiny little birds drawn on the branches. “Terry. Don’t make me repeat myself.” She insisted, yelling away from the phone, in a desperate attempt to embody the firm parental figure she was supposed to be. “I’m telling you, Lois, don’t ever have kids… or a TV… Yeah, see you tomorrow.” She hung up the phone and approached her daughter with clenched fists and a deep sigh.           
“ _… The child has been placed at Wayne Care Center. An investigation has been opened_.” The mother growled and seized the remote to press the red button. The child blinked, surprised by the sudden darkness, and, with a pout and a snarl, glowered at her mother. “Oh, because you think your kitten rows are scary, young lady?” She patted her golden ringlet lovingly before planting a kiss on the top of her head that immediately made the little girl nicknamed Terry wince. But Jenna Olsen did not pay attention to it or at least she tried not to because it was such a painful reminder that her daughter was still angry that she had cancelled their mother/daughter afternoon to chase after scoops with Lois Lane. “ Why don’t you go and tell your dad to come here?”      
Nonchalantly, Terry crawled off the couch like a tiny worm. “And make it snappy! Diner’s getting cold.” The child hurried, almost slipping on the wooden floor because of her pink unicorn head slippers.

She cautiously walked down the stairs to her father’s laboratory and knocked on the door with her little fist. He didn’t answer. He was certainly too focused on his work again. She opened the door slowly and saw him at his desk, his red hair completely dishevelled as he was scratching his skull while recording himself.       
There was a black matte costume with a cowl and red and yellow shining patterns inside a huge glass case displayed at the centre of the room. Inside a giant fire was burning. The reek was so displeasing to Terry’s nostrils she held her nose. It smelt like kerosene and plastic burning.             
“ Uniform is resisting high level temperature. It remains still intact when it reaches 3100°F and seems to partially absorb the energy contained in fire. I’m still trying to figure out how it can be converted and redirected to the … Terry, what are you doing here?”          
“ Diner’s ready.” The girl timidly replied, almost scared. Her father put the recorder on the desk and approached to take his precious daughter in his arms. “ It’s okay, baby bird. You don’t risk anything. Look.” He grabbed her tiny hand in his and placed them both on the glass. The little girl winced, expecting to get burned. But it was actually very cold. Weird. “Everything is perfectly safe.”  
“ Are you still working for the army, dad?”        
“ Yeah. I’m trying to create a costume able to protect soldiers from many sorts of wounds like burns for instance.” The little girl pursed her lips, a bit sceptical. “And what’s this?” She showed a long staff wired to the costume. “It’s a weapon that can redirect the energy the costume absorbs and turn it into electricity… But I’m still trying to make it work though.” She remained quiet. She loved to listen to him talking about his experiment but tonight she couldn’t stop thinking about what she had just seen on TV.        
“ You look sad, baby bird.” The father caressed the cheek of his daughter with a concerned look. She didn’t dare speak too loud, afraid to say the reason, thinking it could bring her bad fortune “The news made me sad. There is this little boy who lost his parents.” Her big greenish grey eyes were suddenly teary. She looked down to hide her sadness. “I don’t want to lose you or mummy.”      
That sweet confession broke the father’s heart. He immediately tightened his embrace around Terry to comfort her. “You won’t.”    
“Clay! Terry! Don’t make me go down!” Jenna’s voice echoed in the stairs. She was loosing patience.  
“Come on, let’s eat before your mum kills us”

 

There are moments in life you just can’t forget, moments that will always stand out in your mind. Crystal clear. You can remember every detail, even the most insignificant. You can remember it all. You can live them again. Precisely. As if they had just happened.        
And others that are just fragments. Snapshots. Frozen in time. Disjointed but connected.

 

Tony Zucco threatening old Haly. Worry. The thunderous applause under the circus tent. Excitement. The Grayson waving at the audience from the rig. Happiness. John goes first. Mary goes second. Adrenaline. She let go of her trapeze. Gasp. John catches her. Wonder. The trapeze breaks. Fear. Terror. Screaming. Nightmare. They fall. More screaming. They hit the ground. Panic. Blood.  
And that voice. The piercing voice of a little boy. “Nooooooooo! Mum!! Dad!!!”

“Mum ? Dad ? Where are you?” Worry. The smoke is getting thicker. Cough. Laughs coming from upstairs. Happiness. “Terry where are you?” “We’re starting without you.” Fear. The flames are blazing. The smell is awful. A child calling for help. Terror. Panic. Parents screaming. “Terry?!!!!”. A quick blue and red figure. Gasp. An embrace. Panic. A dazzling light. Heat. A loud muffled noise. More screaming. “You’re okay.” Superman. Burning fragments. Ashes falling. “You’re okay.”  
And that voice. The piercing voice of a little girl. “Nooooooooo! Mum!! Dad!!!”

 

Time does strange things sometimes. Especially when it lets Fate and Death interfere.          
Few minutes would have been enough for old Haly – still shaken by his conversation with Zucco - to remember asking his staff to check on the trapeze ropes, for Mary and John Grayson to reach the left rig where their son was waiting before falling to their death.           
Few minutes would have been enough for a father to go down the stairs and checked the armoured door of his laboratory, for two parents to find their little girl panicking and screaming before a fire and be saved.  
But it is also few seconds that allowed young Dick and little Terry to stay alive that night. If it weren’t for those few seconds, a young boy and a young girl would have met their parents’ deadly fates.

Time changes life. Time changes destiny. And sometimes, Time bounds two children.

That’s what happened to Richard Grayson and Teresa Olsen.


	2. Lonely Night, Lonely Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Terry moves in Blüdhaven with her long-time boyfriend, still unsure this was a good idea.
> 
> In the meantime, Nightwing is meeting Detective Svoboda to talk about some mysterious child disappearance.

A fresh start. He thought that it was what they needed. He thought that it was what could save their couple, what would rekindle the flame, that ‘intense love they had once for each other’. Those were his words. But she was not so sure he was right.      
Actually she did not know if they could save anything, if they could forget, if they could move on. Too much had happened lately. She had hurt him, again, this time even more than the one before. She had broken his heart as she would always break everything around her, everything she cared for or everyone that cared for her.              
Their couple was like their new apartment. Looking new, willing to be cosy but still smelling like humidity and mould and feeling so cold. The white walls perhaps, or the angular Scandinavian decoration with its sharp triangles patterns. Trendy according to magazines, but she hated it.

Terry was finishing unpacking the dishes, occasionally popping the bubble wrap between her small fingers, when she felt her boyfriend’s arms around her waist and his lips in her neck. “Do you like our new place, baby?” She stiffened lightly. It had become a reflex.      
She turned around and smiled to please him. And as usual, he didn’t see how fake it was. “Great. Cause I really want us to feel like home here.” He moved a wavy strand of blond hair away from her face and gazed at her with his deep brown eyes. “I think this is our chance to start from scratch”  
“So do I” She lied. And he grinned sincerely before catching her by the hips again to kiss her with a burning passion, his hands wandering from her back down her behind. But the only thing he got in return was coldness. His sudden eagerness left her indifferent. Worse, it left her uncomfortable. His thin lips now in her neck, she could only picture him as a leech stuck to her. And she hated herself for that.

Josh was the perfect boyfriend. But he was not made for her. They first met when they were both students at Metropolis University. She was studying Criminology and Psychology. He was in Medicine classes and a Football player, which made him one of the most coveted guys on Campus. But he had only eyes for her, the pencil in her bun when she was studying at the library and the way she was glowering at him when he was bothering her late at night asking if she had Wi-Fi in her room. “Worst way to flirt, ever”. Or not. His persistence bore its fruit and few months later they were moving in together. But the joy, the excitement and the passion didn’t last and soon faded. “It’s not you it’s just … me.” Cliché but true. She left him. He came back. They tried again. She left him. He came back. They tried again. And on. And on. And on.  
Josh and Terry’s relationship was based on ups and downs. But as he would see more ups, she would see more downs. Because that was just Terry: realistic and not as in love with him as he was in love with her.

“I don’t want to, Josh. Not today” She said to calm his ardour. He didn’t grumble or sigh but she could see he was frustrated. And she could understand why. Months had passed since the last time they had sex. The two students hooking up among boxes, books and notes were long gone. Today they were just two lonely people, one with his face buried in the sand, thinking that all this was just an umpteenth insignificant ordeal that they’ll eventually go through, the other not really knowing why she was still here and why she was still giving hope to the man who loved her.  
“ Are you stressed because of tomorrow?” He tried to change the subject as always. She sighed, popping the bubble paper in her hands even quicker. Tomorrow was her first day at Blüdhaven Police Department. “Do you remember that feeling we had when we’re kids and we’re about to enter middle school?”  
“New class. New teacher. No friends?”           He tried to guess with a wide smile. She nodded. “Yeah. Scary right?” He laughed and grabbed her hands “Everything will be fine. You’ll do fine. Cause you’re the best. Plus, BPD must wait for you like the arrival of the Messiah. ” She chuckled slightly. “Why are you saying this?”    
“Don’t you read articles on the net? Journalists are constantly bashing the police saying that they are useless and flawed. Most cases are solved thanks to some masked vigilante.”        
“ Nightwing. Yeah I’ve heard of him.” She placed the plates in the cupboard without adding a word. He expected more. He expected something else.         
“ Oh come one don’t tell you support that vigilantism crap!”   
“As long as criminals are put behind bars, I think that’s all that matters. We had Superman in Metropolis. No one complained. You didn’t complain.”       
“ Don’t compare the threats in Metropolis with the threats here. Nightwing would not make it through one day in Metropolis.”

He would not make it through the night. Not at this rate. He was tired, exhausted and his wounds were not fully healed yet. But he couldn’t stop. The city needed him. Blüdhaven needed Nightwing so Dick Grayson would have to wait.       
He winced and moaned from the pain when he landed on the rooftop. He approached the Detective Svoboda, limping. She noticed and stared at him from head to toes, genuinely worried but hiding it behind her eternal nonchalance and the smoke of her cigarillo. “Have you thought about seeing a doctor? That gimpy leg looks baaaad.”          
“ It’s fine.” He retorted. “What’s happening?”  
“ A disappearance. One child missing in Ravenshood Heights” She handed him a picture of a smiling red-haired young boy in his parents’ arms. “His name is Isaac Peterson. 9 years old. Orphan since the age of 4. Adopted two months ago. Missing for 3 days. My colleagues think he ran away.” Nightwing stared at the picture. It was recent. It had been taken in front of a cinema and the movies on the posters were still on the bill. The kid was wearing a brand new Blüdhaven Brawlers football jersey; limited edition, very expensive, as the game console in his pocket. He wasn’t just smiling, he was grinning and so were his adoptive parents. His body language – very close, his arms around their necks – showed he loved them a lot. “He didn’t.”    
“ That’s what the adoptive parents said and that’s what I thought as well but thanks for confirming it.”  
“ Any clues whatsoever?”         
“ None. The mother put the kid to sleep and when she entered the room to wake him up in the morning he was gone. Window wide open. No sign of breaking in. No prints. Nothing.” Nightwing frowned, intrigued and disturbed by the report. A child could not vanish like that. There must be clues somewhere, witnesses, anything. “What about the neighbours?”         
“ One is an old man, completely deaf, disgusting cataract. Didn’t hear or see a thing. The others is a couple but they have been in vacation for two weeks.”         
“ I’ll do everything I can to help.” He gave back the picture to Elise. “We’ll find him, Detective.” She allowed herself to smile lightly. She knew he was telling the truth. She trusted him. She just hated that the police and the media were that harsh with him. “ Thank you, kid. And again …”     
“ Be discreet. I know.” He sighed before jumping from the rooftop and she watched him leave with worry.

There was something wrong with him. She could tell it. Since the day she shot him, since that case with the Judge, she could feel he wasn’t the same anymore. He was morose, almost sullen. His usual bright smile was gone like his traditional wit and his playfulness. And she missed all that. But worse, he didn’t seem like he cared. And his negligence was scaring her. She was scared for him. “I meant ‘take care of yourself, kid’”

She wasn’t the only one worried. Everyone around him was. Bruce, Alfred, Barbara, Wally, even Damian. All had told him to take it easy, to rest, to take some time to heal and for himself, to take care of Dick Grayson a bit. But that was like talking to a brick wall. Pointless and a waste of time.  
He had decided to devote himself body and soul to this city and there was nothing anyone could do and there was no more going back now, not after all the things he had lost lately. Dick Grayson’s life was a mess. It had slipped away between his fingers. His social life was garbage, his love life no more, and his gym studio almost neglected along with his clients.            
So focusing entirely on Nightwing was the best thing, the only thing, he could do right now. And as he was jumping from rooftop to rooftop he knew nothing would stop him. Nothing, not even a cruciate ligament injury.  
“Damn” He cursed as he fell flat on his face. The pain was stabbing at his knee like hundreds of tiny needles. He stayed down a few seconds before trying to stand up again, in vain. “Oh come on!” He punched the concrete, angry, trying to contain the tears of rage in his eyes. He was exhausted. And so was his body.

He was right. He would not go through the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like this chapter. Please don't forget to leave a comment to give me your opinion.
> 
> it would mean a lot
> 
> Love
> 
> Cee,


	3. This is the Blüd

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isaac Peterson, the child that was kidnapped, is still missing.   
> As Nightwing finds his first evidence that leads him to a strange woman in Meadowdale Mall, Detective Elise Svoboda and Terry Olsen begin investigating on their own, not really glad to work together.

### Blüdhaven Police Department – Morning

“Impressive … very impressive” Commissioner Foster was skimming through Terry’s curriculum as if he was discovering it right now in front of her. “Degree in Criminology and Psychology, excellent physical condition and amazing results to the aptitude tests. Which makes me wonder … why would Metropolis let such a valued cop leave?” He threw the files on his desk and stared at her with his arms crossed over his chest. “What awful mistakes did you make?”               
She didn’t really know what to answer. So many things had happened, so many things that would justify why she was sitting here today but they were so personal and so shameful, still full of guilt, pain and remorse. And yet, she wanted so much to confess. The words were screaming in her head. _Come on, tell him_. _Tell everyone what you’ve done and what you can’t resolve yourself to do!_   
Her mouth opened slightly but the man started laughing. “I’m kidding, Olsen. You should have seen your face.” She tried to laugh as well, but the embarrassment blocked the sound in her throat. “Are you guys in Metropolis always that uptight?”   
“I’m sorry, Commissioner. It’s my first day. I’m a little nervous.”        
“Don’t be, kiddo. I’m not going to torture you to know why you had an A and not an A+ at your gymnastics exam or anything. You’re probably the best element that ever been transferred here.” She smiled slightly. He hadn’t reassured her, at all. On the contrary, knowing that he was certainly expecting a lot coming from her was making her more stressed than she already was. “Plus you’re arriving at the right time. There’s a case waiting for you.” She pursed her lips and massaged her moistly hands discreetly under the desk. “Johnson, send Svoboda.” The man ordered after pushing a button on his phone.

Elise Svoboda entered the office, reeking of cigarettes, a pile of files under one arm and a mug of coffee in one hand. “Commissioner. You wanted to see me?” Her casualness bewildered Terry and she guessed Svoboda noticed it since she briefly glowered at her. “Yes, this is Teresa Olsen, a detective transferred from Metropolis … and your new partner.” Terry’s eyes widened and she stared silently at the old man in shock. “What?” Elise almost chocked on her coffee.              
“She’ll help you with the Peterson case.”          
“ I don’t work with teammates...” She hated it actually. Elise was a very strong and independent woman. Working in duo, and furthermore with a novice, was something she was seeing as another responsibility she’d rather avoid. “ ... especially when they are Victoria’s Secret models who just got their job by kneeling under the right desk.” The insult rooted Terry to the spot. What the f…? “Excuse me?” The young woman asked with daggers in her green eyes. “No one talks to me like that.”   
“ Svoboda, that was inappropriate.”     
“ Inappropriate? That’s putting it mildly.” Terry stood up to face the tall forty-something woman next to her, her fists clenched to help her keep her fragile cool. “You don’t want to work with me, fine. The feeling is mutual. I’ll take care of that case myself.”     
“ No one’s working alone. Olsen, you’ll need Svoboda. She’s been living in the Blüd since forever. She knows this city. And Svoboda, you’ll need Olsen, too. She’s perfectly qualified for this case and a pair of young eyes is still useful. Now take this” He put Terry’s badge on his desk along with a brand new black gun, a Glock 22. “And get to work!”     
Both women sighed before leaving the office, Terry following closely Elise who was already running away from the department. “ So about the case?”      
“ Oh hell no. Stop right there, Victoria Secret. I’m doing this on my own.”        
“ What? But Foster said …”      
“ I don’t care what Foster said. This is my case. Mine” She pointed a finger at herself and looked straight in Terry’s eyes. “Look it doesn’t delight me to work with you either. But we were given orders.”              
“ You’re in the Blüd, honey. There are no orders. There are no rules to follow. This city is rotten, just like this police department. So if you think things are going to be the same they were in Metropolis, you better go back there. Now let me do my work.”  

### Ravenshood Heights – Blüdhaven - Night

Ravenshood Heights was the richest neighbourhood in Blüdhaven and not a place Nightwing was familiar with. Apart from occasional burglary in the most fancy houses, it was a rather peaceful and tranquil area and weirdly – or not – where the police was patrolling the most. ‘Protect the ones who can pay’ being certainly the credo of all corrupted cops in the city. Funny, all the bribes didn’t prevent the kidnapping of nine years-old Isaac Peterson.         
Nightwing was combing the room with his domino mask, looking for anything that the police could have missed. The parents of the child had let him in even though they were not fond of “thighs”, as the vigilantes were called here. But desperate times called for desperate measures.        

Despite the stripped bed in which the child had slept in, the room was clean and tidy. Nothing, not even an ounce of dust on the scientific books on the shelves or toys or Legos scattered on the ground. “Isaac is very meticulous. It can be obsessive sometimes. An habit he kept from the orphanage” The mother had said.

Dick could remember the little time he had spent in Wayne Care Centre. Not the best place in the world when it comes to intimacy even for someone who used to share a trailer with a dwarf. Four beds in the same room, barely enough space to play or even to move, and some weird children with annoying tendencies to steal whatever you may leave on the ground. "Finders keepers!"  So you take great care of the few precious things you own since they'll be the only ones you'll ever have. You always keep an eye on them. You make sure not to damage it and check every day that no one touched them.   
Dick had done all this when the only thing he had to remember his destroyed happiness was his mother’s bracelet and his Flying Grayson poster. But he only stayed there few weeks contrary to Isaac who basically grew up there. No time to make this a habit.    

So why don’t organise the books in alphabetical order?          
Nightwing frowned and stared at the books. Few of them were dog-eared and they were not old at all. With a lot of precaution, he removed them from the shelf and scanned them all with his domino mask looking for prints or anything else. “Bingo” It was a long blond hair and no one in this family had blond hair.       
“ Alfred?” Nightwing asked through the earpiece. “Master Grayson. I believe this is not a casual call.”  
“ No indeed. I would need you to search someone for me. I’m sending you the DNA sample” Dick placed the hair in his gauntlet, which immediately began scanning it to send the DNA to Alfred in the Batcave. “Anything?”      
“It appears the hair belong to a certain Jane Antol, an ex waitress working for Penguin at the Iceberg Lounge.”          
“ Do you have an address where I can find her?”         
“ No, but she was arrested two weeks ago by the Police of Blüdhaven for prostitution and possession of prohibited substances. Perhaps Detective Svoboda could tell you where to find that young woman.”          
“All right. Thank you, Alfred.”     
“ Anytime, Master Grayson” Dick pressed the earpiece to cut contact with Alfred and immediately called Svoboda on her police wireless, hoping she would provide him the information he was looking for. “Good evening, Detective.” He scoffed when he heard her gasp and cough through the radio. He had surprised her, scared her even. “How did you decode… Never mind.” She sighed, regaining a normal heartbeat. “Any news concerning the Peterson case?”            
“ I’ll need you to tell me where to find a girl called Jane Antol. I believe she is involved in the kidnapping. I found one of her hair on the crime scene.”            
“ Jane Antol. Doesn’t ring a bell.” She confessed as she bit in her pink donut.             
“ She was arrested two weeks ago. A prostitute with blond hair, possibly Polish and drug addict” He heard her chewing loudly. Either she didn’t want to speak with her mouth full or she was in an intense reflection, which was more likely. “Oh yeah, Ann Darrow.”          
“Ann Darrow?” Nightwing frowned. Ann Darrow was the name of the blond young lady in the King Kong movies. Strange name for a prostitute. “Well, that’s the name the guys in the department gave her. She used to lay with Gorilla Grimm.” Or not. But right now, he had no time to ponder over prostitute names. He had a little boy to find, a little boy who was certainly frightened and in great danger. “You’ll probably find her at Meadowdale Mall.”   
Of course, Meadowdale Mall was Blüdhaven’s mostly illegal street market, a place tolerated by the police where prostitutes, dealers of all kinds and criminals escape authority and justice to attend to their shady business. He had been there before to collect information on Gorilla Grimm. And he had met that girl. Jane. Hopefully, he would find her again. “I think I know who that is. Thank you, Detective.”           
“ Do you need help? I can send a unit to arrest her.” Elise suggested              
“ I’m fine” And he just hung up without saying another word.

Elise sighed and relaxed against the backrest of her car, allowing herself to close her eyes for a second when she heard someone knock her windowpane. She opened one eye and noticed Teresa, arms crossed over her chest. “Stubborn child.” She mumbled as she lowered the window. “What?” she grumbled, definitely annoyed.           
“ Honestly, I don’t give a damn you’re working with Nightwing.” Elise’s jaw dropped as she thought briefly about what to reply though she didn’t get the time to. “All I want to know is how a prostitute could enter the Petersons’ house.” She declared authoritatively with a serious look and no qualms at all.   
“Damn, girl! Don’t you know the word ‘privacy’? And how can you guys hack police radio?” Terry ignored the questions. “The house is highly secured: alarm, camera and motion sensors. Plus there was no sign of breaking in. You wrote it yourself in the report.”        
“I did.”   
“ So how does a prostitute from the rough area enter a house like that?”            
“ I don’t know, Barbie.” Elise confessed, persuaded she will get the answer very soon judging by the young cop’s quick thinking. “She was invited in.” That wasn’t what she expected, though.      
“ Sure, the ‘rich father fucks the monkey-fetish STI nest junky prostitute’ sounds very likely.” The sarcasm didn’t affect Terry who kept standing her ground. “Did you ever study psychology, Svoboda?”   
“ No but I’m aware of my husband’s Internet history. And I’ve never seen a porn like that.”    
“ The Peterson spent years trying to have a child. Eight artificial inseminations, hormone therapies… His wife wanted a child so badly that I bet it had impact on their sexual life. He certainly began to see himself as a mere sperm donor. So, he began to screw prostitutes to feel sexual desire again. The fact that they were from Meadowdale guaranteed discretion as the police have no control over this area. I’m sure if we check the Petersons’ bank accounts we’ll find traces that’ll prove my point ”          
“ Except you’re forgetting something. The wife was there, in the house, the night of the kidnapping.” Though Elise was right, Terry was still convinced she was somehow right. She remained quiet for a short moment, thinking about different alternatives to her hypothesis.        
“Then, I guess we’ll have to interrogate the Petersons.” Svoboda thought about protesting for a splint second but when she saw that glimmer in Olsen’s eyes she smiled genuinely. “I drive, Victoria Secret.” Still, she didn’t want a partner.       
           

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, don't forget to leave a kudo/ a comment at the end of the chapter. I'll be more than happy to read your opinions.


	4. Ann Darrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Elise Svoboda and Terry interrogate the Petersons in their family home, Nightwing investigates on Jane Antol, a prostitute whose DNA was found in Isaac's bedroom. 
> 
> He doesn't know how involved she is in this case.
> 
> But one thing is sure, the night is going to be full of surprises

### Old Whalers Harbour - Blüdhaven – Night

  
Gorilla Grimm was no stranger to Nightwing. Back in his Robin days, when the ape was selling illegal tech-weapons to villains, Dick used to kick his butt with Batman. Today, he was just an ex-criminal trying to stay clean, a simple citizen of the Blüd … despite the hairs and the louse.      
“ Fuck man, I didn’t do anything I swear.” The ape fell on his butt after slipping on an empty beer bottle. “I’m clean, remember?” He didn’t look good, or sober. But luckily for Nightwing, a drunk Gorilla Grimm was rather inoffensive. “I know Grimm. I’m just hear to ask a few questions.”              
“ About what? I’m innocent!”  
“ Tell me where I can find Jane.”          
“ Jane?” He was astonished but the most striking thing was the sadness in his voice. “Yeah, your … Ann Darrow.” The gorilla looked down. Something was wrong. “I don’t know …” He started crying like a baby. “I want her back.” There was worse than a drunk Gorilla Grimm: a drunk Gorilla Grimm with a broken heart. “I love her.” Guess, Ann Darrow was a perfect nickname after all. “But since that guy showed up…”   
“ What guy?” Nightwing frowned behind his domino mask.    
“ Some rich dude with a perfect white smile and a shiny Rolex. Don’t my smile look pretty too?” He grinned unnaturally showing all his yellowish pointy teeth. “Sure.” Better trying to comfort him, right now.  
“ He took her away from me.”  
“ Could you tell me more about that man besides the perfect smile and the Rolex?”  
“ She said he was a client, that he was giving her a lot of money and that _he_ had a real house in Ravenshood Heights and not a lousy container on a dock.”     
“ When is the last time you saw her?”             
“ Two days ago. I tried to get her back.”          
“ Anything unusual?”  
“ Yeah. She smelled weirdly.” He recalled “Like iron, salt and formaldehyde. She had blood on her clothes too” Nightwing frowned, concerned about this detail. “She told me it was nothing. That I should mind my business but she looked pretty upset.”             
“ Where do you go when you want to find her?”

### Petersons’ House – Ravenshood Heights – Blüdhaven – Night

The cup of hot camomile was steaming in Caroline Peterson’s hands as she was crying, her swollen reddened eyes ringed with fatigue. Her husband, William, was close to her, his arms around her shoulders; doing the best he could to comfort her.     
On the couch opposite to theirs, Detective Svoboda and Terry were staring, feeling rather uncomfortable. “I hope you know what you’re doing, girl” The oldest woman whispered discreetly. She hoped that too. As she was looking at the tightly knit couple and all the pictures of their beloved missing son arranged all over the fancy living room she started hesitating. What if what she was assuming was wrong? What if insinuating such terrible things would be like staking their poor hearts? She took a deep breath to give herself courage and placed her phone on the coffee table.  
“I need you to look at this picture.” She showed the mug shot of Jane Antol taken few weeks ago. “We believe this woman is somehow involved in your son’s kidnapping.” The father was the one to take the phone. He looked at the picture, briefly, and put it back on the table without giving his wife the time to properly see it. “We don’t know her.” He said harshly.         
Mrs Peterson glanced discreetly and very quickly at the phone before looking down at the hot beverage again. Terry noticed it though, as she remarked her now shaking hands tightening around the cup to prevent the camomile from spilling onto the Berber carpet. “I don’t believe you, Mr Peterson.” Terry’s tone was calm yet stern. “In fact I believe both of you know this woman.” The man lowered his brown eyes in silence. “Get out of our house.” The man said between his teeth. Svoboda stared at the couple with a frown before looking at her stony-faced colleague who was now expecting for the Petersons’ confessions. “ I don’t think so.”             
“ You have no warrant that allows you to stay here!” He stood up in an unconscious attempt to intimidate the young detective.      
“ Don’t you want your son back?” Terry asked with sarcasm. With a wild gesture, Caroline dropped the cup on the sitting table. “William, just sit down, for God’s sake!” She growled at him with daggers in her blue eyes. “We hired her.” She finally confessed in shame.    
“ I didn’t see that one coming” Elise admitted with astonishment while Terry chose to hide her surprise. “We had trouble having a child and the adoption was taking years. We …”     
“ Caroline… please” William begged, definitely more distraught than she was right now. “William didn’t desire me anymore … but we still wanted a child … so” She started crying, ashamed but at the same time relieved. She needed to talk about this. “We hired Jane to help him get an … to help us.” Terry glanced at Mr Peterson. He couldn’t talk. He couldn’t look at anyone. “We gave her money for this and to remain discreet.”            
“So you’re saying that you used to have threesomes with Jane Antol to help your husband get hard so that you could get pregnant.” Terry pursed her lips. Svoboda was definitely not the kind that knew how to handle things with kid gloves.            
“Have you got children, detectives?” Caroline asked with teary eyes. Terry just nodded to say no, looking suddenly down at her sneakers while Elise answered “Yes, one daughter.”    
“So you know the feeling of a baby growing inside of you, the small kicks in your stomach.” The tears were rolling on her cheeks. Terry could hear them, still unable to look at the broken mother in front of her as her mind was wandering towards old painful distant memories. “You know the joy of giving life, of seeing your child grow up. I’ve never got that chance.” Terry blinked to prevent herself from crying, gripping her knees tightly.          
“ That still doesn’t explain why Jane Antol was in your house the night Isaac was kidnapped.” Svoboda had dropped the bomb.              
“ What? How do you …?” William had found his voice again.             
“ A friend of mine did a great job.” Svoboda confessed with a slight smile, thanking Nightwing in her head for that precious information. “Now, can you explain this? And please don’t tell me your are still having naughty three-ways in your bedroom.”     
“ She came for the money.” Caroline answered. “We had promised her money.”      

“ Why? You have had Isaac for two months. Why giving her money now?”   
“ Because it was the deal … And because he told her!!” She pointed her finger at her husband. William gritted his teeth. “How many times do I have to say I’m sorry?!”            
“ What did you tell her?”         

### Meadowdale Mall – Blüdhaven – Night

“You know this is going to cost you a lot, sugar?” The raven-haired prostitute called Venus winked at Nightwing, brushing the blue symbol on his chest. “And for you, I would accept in-kind donations.” Nightwing pursed his lips, trying to keep his cool and seriousness. The place Gorilla Grimm had told him – Jane’s usual spot - had been an impasse. Instead of the blond haired prostitute he had found Venus, who was apparently a friend of her. “I just need to know when is the last time you saw Jane.” He handed her a twenty-dollar bill.          
“ Yesterday night” She put the bank note in her ample décolleté. “She was upset. I thought she was in withdrawal at first. But it was definitely something else. She said she needed to go away from the Blüd”    
“ Why?” Nightwing asked with a frown. She had a smirk and stretched out her hand asking for more money. The vigilante sighed and gave her another bill, draining in his little savings the same way he did the last time he stepped a foot in the Mall. “She was involved in a delicate business with a man or something like that. She didn’t say more, saying she didn’t want me to be in danger as well.”         
“As well? She was in danger?”            
“Yeah. Why else would she have spent her savings in a last minute one-way train ticket for Central City?”  
“ So she left for Central City.” Nightwing assumed. “I don’t know. When I called her to see if she was feeling better she didn’t answer.”      
“Give me your phone… And no, no more money.” Her eyes widened but she didn’t protest and handed him her phone. He opened it and took the SIM card to put it in his gauntlet. “What are you doing?” Venus dared ask. “Tracking her phone.” It only took a few seconds but the results made Nightwing clench his jaw. The phone was in the middle of the bay by Waterloo Docks, far away from Meadowdale Mall or from the train station, at the opposite side of Blüdhaven. This wasn’t good.  
He pressed his earpiece, trying to reach the only person he knew that could take care of this situation  
“ Svoboda?”     
“ Ah, kid. This time I’m glad to hear your voice. I’ve interrogated the Peterson’s about our Ann Darrow. I’ve learned …” He heard someone cleared their throat next to her. “All right, we’ve learned more about the night Isaac was kidnapped and we believe Jane is responsible. We need to find her.”  
“That’s why I’m calling. I need you, Svoboda. Meet me at Waterloo Docks, in thirty minutes, with a squad and underwater equipment. I’m afraid they’ll have a corpse to fish.”           

### Waterloo Docks – Blüdhaven – Later that Night

From the top of the salt factory, Elise Svoboda by his side, Nightwing was watching the lights of the coast guard police’s small crafts sailing in the south bay as BPD officers were waiting for them to come back onto dry land with results. He had got used to working in the shadow and letting the police in the limelight. “How did you know to look precisely there?” She asked.      
“I tracked her phone.” He said, keeping a solemn air. “It doesn’t look good, right?” She asked. “No it doesn’t.”        
“Before you called, I was with the Petersons. Jane was indeed there the night of the kidnapping, asking for money.”           
“ Does William Peterson has a Rolex at his wrist?” He simply asked.             
“ Huh … Yeah.” Elise answered though she didn’t know why he was asking this silly question. “He was her client.” She was surprised that he knew but not that much. After all, even though she didn’t want to admit it, he was a better detective than her.   
“ They were her clients.” Nightwing frowned and stared doubtfully at the detective. “She was paid to give Mr Peterson a little help with his erection issues, if you see what I mean. Years trying to have a kid, the husband couldn’t desire his wife anymore. A bit problematic when you desperately want a kid… Anyway, they had a deal. If Caroline Peterson finally got pregnant, then they’d give Jane a nice check. When the kid disappeared, she was there asking for due since Caroline Peterson is now expecting. But they didn’t give it to her.”          
“ So she took the child?”          
“ This part is just assumption since there is no one or nothing that can confirm it. But it looks like it.”  
“ I doubt it, to be honest. I believe she had bigger problems than that. But nice work detective.”  
“ Actually, you should give the laurels to Barbie Princess Detective down there.” She pointed at Teresa Olsen waiting with the team on the docks. “She’s smarter than she looks”  
Nightwing stared at the young beautiful detective, smiling at the way she was leading the squad down here and how she was occasionally brushing her blond hair with her fingers. Damn, she was pretty … stressed. “ I didn’t know you had a partner Svoboda.”          
“ She’s not my partner. I don’t work with partners. I don’t need partners. But perhaps you could use one. You can take her. ” He smirked half amused half annoyed. The truth is, after the dismantlement of the Titans he wasn’t sure he wanted to work in a team anymore. Too many responsibilities. He didn’t want to put lives in danger for the sake of his missions. 

“ Detective.” An officer called out. “We’ve got news… They found her body.”    
“ Damn.” Terry cursed as she kicked in the tyre of the police car, brushing her hair back with her fingers in frustration. “ What shall we do now?”   
“ Bring her body to the forensics department. Ask the coroner for an immediate autopsy to establish the cause of death.” The man nodded and Terry looked up at the Salt Factory rooftop where she knew Svoboda was. She waved her to come down right now. But for a short moment she couldn’t help but stare at the black and blue figure next to her with so many questions in her head.

### Unknown Place – Blüdhaven – The same night

The little girl was scrutinising the place. The smile on her angelic baby face was gone. She had followed that strange but nice man, willingly, when her baby sitter wasn’t looking; too busy flirting with the man walking the brown golden retriever in the park. He had told her that she would have fun with him, that he had a boy who would love to play with her. But deep down, right now, she knew she had made a mistake. She shouldn’t be here.

The place was dark, very humid, sweltering and reeked like decay. Droplets of hot water were falling from copper pipes right on her curly black head, burning her skull. “Hello, Isaac. A friend stopped by to play with you.” The man yelled with joy in his voice.         
The little girl’s black eyes widened and her mouth opened to scream when she spotted a cage at the end of the room. But she couldn’t scream. In a vain attempt to run away, she tried to let go of the man’s hand but he was holding her too tightly. Without much effort, he dragged her towards the cage, pulling her skinny little body along the wet floor. “Chloe, this is Isaac. Isaac, this is Chloe.”  
The man opened the door. The rattle echoed in the room. The girl named Chloe grabbed the door. She didn’t want to get in there. She was so scared. She wanted her mother.       
But it was useless. He caught her by her pink hoodie and threw her inside before slamming the door and locking it with a rusty padlock. “I’m sure you two are going to get along just fine. Though, I must tell you, like you, he’s not much of a talker.” And he left with a last laugh.

Shaking, Chloe turned around to look at the boy in the cage with her. But as soon as she did, she wished she hadn’t. That wasn’t a boy. Not anymore.            
His face was rigid, his mouth was wide open, his reddened eyes completely aghast, almost out of their sockets. But worse, his legs had been cut off and his remaining arm was attached with a handcuff to the cage.      
“Help!!” Chloe tried to scream again but like the first time no sound came out. After all, how could she yell? Chloe LaGrange was mute.


	5. Faceless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the kidnapping of another child, Terry starts to devote herself even more to her work at the expense of her life as a couple.  
> But there is no time for personal life. The autopsy of Jane Antol has revealed too many terrible things and she believes she may have a lead.  
> Problem is, she needs Nightwing's help.

### Terry and Josh’s Apartment – Halyard Street – Blüdhaven – Morning

Another child was missing. Terry had received a message telling her so early this morning. Chloe LaGrange. Five Years Old. A sweet little girl with curly black hair, big black eyes and mocha-coloured skin. Living in Ravenshood Heights and an orphan adopted last year by a couple of doctors. “Just like Isaac.” Terry whispered as she pinched the bridge of her nose, the picture of the little girl in her hand. Now she was certain that this wasn’t a coincidence. She was dealing with a serial kidnapper… or worse.               
Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t see Josh sitting by her side with a mug of hot black coffee. “Here, you’ll need this.” She didn’t hear him either. He sighed and put the mug in her field of vision. “I’m sorry … Thank you … You were saying?” He smiled. He wasn’t mad. He knew how much her work meant to her. “There was nothing you could have done, Terry.”   
“ I know. But it kills me to know there is a psychopath hurting kids somewhere in this city and that the only clue I had is now on the coroner’s table.”       
“ Any idea who that might be?”             
“ Well I’ve established a profile using the data on the children. Since both Isaac and Chloe were orphans, adopted by rich families and living in the most luxurious area in the Blüd, I believe our kidnapper is an orphan too … However, I don’t think he was ever adopted. Actually, I think the kidnappings are acts of vengeance and resentment, to punish the families that didn’t choose him. But maybe I’m wrong.”         
“ You’re never wrong.” He tried to kiss her on her lips but he only met the corner of her mouth as she remained still. “You’re going somewhere?” She asked as she noticed him taking a grey duffel bag “To the gym. I signed up yesterday for a ridiculous price and I read on the Internet the coach is very competent” She faked a smile. Another. Truth was she couldn’t care less about his hobbies. Awful, right? She knew. “But hey, he might interest you. He is also an orphan adopted by a rich guy.” He joked as he zipped his sport jacket.         
“Oh really?” Why did she ask? Just let him leave.         
“Yeah. Dick Grayson. Heard he was Bruce Wayne’s ward” Terry froze instantly and Josh noticed it. He frowned. “Do you know him?”         
“Who doesn’t know Bruce Wayne?”     
“I meant Dick Grayson.” She hesitated for a second but then answer with a “Nope”. But the truth is she knew him. After all, how could she forget him? That poor boy that had lost his parents the same night she lost hers. “Dick Grayson” she whispered inaudibly.

### Grayson Cross Train Studio – Blüdhaven - Morning

The alarm made Dick jump. For a second, he thought he had just closed his eyes a couple of minutes ago. But when he checked the clock on his nightstand he realised he had been sleeping for at least three hours. A record this week, but still not enough to erase the dark rings under his blue eyes. He yawned but managed to get up even though his knee was still hurting. A splint and he hopefully would be ready to work.           
He limped towards the windows and drew the curtains. The sun hidden behind the high buildings of the city centre was slowly rising, replacing the crazy noisy neon night and colouring the sky with yellow and orange shades. It was one of the many reasons he loved Blüdhaven and refused to call it Gotham’s little sister.               
Blüdhaven was not Gotham. It didn’t look like her at all. Yes, crimes and lawlessness had given her this reputation of dangerous dark place but Blüdhaven was also this eternal patchwork of colours, a flashy skyline sparkling in the dark night in which even more colourful people were living. Blüdhaven was not just black and white, neon pink and blue.

Just like the sign on his windows, that Josh was staring at, happy that he had finally found the place after his GPS had got him lost at least twice. He opened the door and was immediately welcomed by a still sleepy yet smiley Dick who approached him to shake his hand. “Hi! You must be Josh” The ex-surgeon instantly noticed his splint but, out of respect, he just smiled and chose not to say a word though he thought Dick looked like he definitely needed medical advice. “Yeah. Sorry, I’m a bit late. I’m new in this city. Still got some orientation issues.”   
“ No worries. At least, I was able to take my time this morning. Plus the others are not here yet so … Coffee?” He nodded. Dick was a very warm and social man. His comfort and ease around people stroke Josh who wished for a second he was like this too. Even his voice was smooth and immediately gave him an incredible trustworthy and friendly vibe. “So you’re new in town?” Dick handed him a cup of hot coffee. “Yeah. We moved in few days ago.”           
“ We, as in …”               
“My girlfriend and I, Terry. I got a job opportunity, a huge contract from the mayor’s office to renovate the old harbour salt factory into a seaside resort. I’m an architect/ interior designer”         
“ Wow. That’s looks like a huge work.” Dick took a sip of coffee as he massaged his knee, a gesture that caught again Josh’s attention. “It is and it’s taking me most of my time which is actually something I didn’t want to happen when I changed my career path. I was a surgeon at Metropolis Hospital.”   
“ Why that huge change?”        
“ I did it for my girlfriend, mostly. We’ve been through a lot recently.” Sadness was suddenly in Josh’s deep brown eyes. He tried to conceal it behind a smile. “We needed a new start and I wonder ‘why not’” But Dick noticed, as he had been taught to discern every details. However, he knew how to react according to them. The man was basically a stranger so chatting about his personal problems was not a good idea. “And well, it looks like we’re getting better.” Good for you, lucky man. Dick winced as he crossed his leg. Stupid knee. “You know, you should see a doctor. You may need surgery… Medical advice.” Dick smiled slightly just to be polite but the truth is he was tired of people worrying about him. “It can wait.”

Dick’s phone rang, cutting short the conversation before it became too awkward. It was a text from Helen, one of his clients, a professional hockey player with gorgeous blue eyes, curly dark hair and a smooth mocha-coloured skin. “Car trouble. We will be late. Sorry <3”        
“Looks like Helen and Wallace are going to be very late. So let’s start without them.”             
“Looks like Helen digs you.” Josh winked as he noticed discreetly the heart at the end of the text. Dick scoffed and smiled. “She’s a cool girl but I’ve got no time for romance right now.” Josh shrugged. “Or you don’t want to take the time for some reason” The ex-trapeze artist was a bit surprised by the familiarity but better a weird too sociable client that than an introvert shy one, no? “Sorry that was inappropriate.”               
“Actually you may be right.” Relieved, Josh smiled and dared ask “We should totally go out sometime. Terry and I haven’t get the chance to meet people since we arrived. And you seem like a pretty nice guy… You can ask Helen and Wallace to come as well … or other people, as you wish ” He winked with a smile. “Sure … why not.”

### Blüdhaven Police Department – Afternoon

As soon as Terry opened the door, an intense cold invaded her body. For a second she wondered it was the low temperature in the room or the naked corpse on the table in front of her that was making her shiver. She opted for the last theory.       
“ Detective Olsen. I was no expecting you so soon.” The coroner approached her with a smile and stretched out his hand to salute her. She did the same but quickly reconsidered when she noticed the blood on his glove. “Oh sorry.” He took it off, a bit embarrassed and finally shook her hand. “I just began the autopsy this morning right after I received the Examining Magistrate’s authorisation.”   
“ And? Have you found anything yet?”             
“ I have indeed.” He waved her to come closer to the corpse and pointed at her slit neck. “She bled to death. I’m still trying to figure out what blade was used but the precision of the cut shows the killer took his time.”             
“ His? How do you know?”       
“The bruises on her jaw and on her wrists– beside the ones that show she had been tied up pre and post mortem – correspond to very large hands, definitively not female. I suppose the killer caught her wrists first to tie her up and then held her head to slit her throat while she was still alive.” Terry frowned and gulped, imagining the pain the girl must have endured. “But there is worse. Her abdomen was entirely cut in half after she died. The liver and the heart are gone.” He opened the abdomen a little to show her. Terry closed briefly her eyes, deeply disgusted. Poor woman. She was maybe guilty of what happened to Isaac but no one deserved to be treated this way. “Did you find anything that would allow us to track down the killer by any chance?”     
“ No. Whoever did this is a professional. There is no DNA, nothing” Terry pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, frustrated and more than annoyed. “What’s this?” She pointed at a long red scar on Jane’s pale face.       
“ That’s the creepiest part.” As if things were not already creepy enough. He turned Jane’s face to the side to show a thin cut all around the prostitute’s face. “It was made post mortem. It looks like the killer peeled off her face and then sewed it back”      
“ What?” Her eyes widened. She had seen a lot in her young career and read a lot when she was a student but she had never heard or seen anything like this. “Sicko I know… And I also found this, in her mouth” It was a piece of paper. Words had been scribbled on it but the saliva had damaged it so much it was impossible to read. “I only found residues of food on it.”         
“ May I take it?” She asked as she looked at the paper in the plastic bag.       
“ Sure, yes. If you believe you can do something with it.”         
“ I may know someone who can actually.”

### Blüdhaven Police Department – Night

“ No. No way you’re staying here, Victoria’s Secret” Elise growled as she tried to make Terry go away, pulling her by the arm towards the door. “I don’t see why I couldn’t stay. I’d really like to talk to him myself about the case.”        
“ I believe I can repeat everything you told me.” Svoboda insisted as she opened the door. “I’m not that sure to be honest. You seemed more interested in your burger than in the conclusions I had drawn from the autopsy and both kidnappings.”           
“ Male. Serial offender. Possibly a resentful never-adopted orphan bla-bla-bla … See I listened to you.”   
“ Actually the bla-bla-bla part worries me.” Elise sighed and pushed the young woman before attempting to close the door to prevent her from coming back on the rooftop. “Fine, I’m leaving … But don’t forget to give him …”   
“ The paper. I know” The detective slammed the door and waited a little bit to make sure her colleague was gone. When she heard the footsteps going down the metallic stairs, she breathed out loudly, relieved she had succeeded in getting rid of her.         
“ What paper?” Svoboda jumped and put her hand over her racing heart. It had skipped more than one beat, she was sure of it. “You’re going to give me heart attack one day, kiddo.” She groaned and looked up at the vigilante casually leant against the BPD flashing sign. “Don’t worry Elise, I have a defibrillator in my suit” She frowned, not really liking the joke but happy his usual cheerfulness was slowly resurfacing. “That was a joke.”             
“ I know it was joke. But I’m not in a mood.”               
“ I’m not really in the mood either.” He admitted before jumping from his spot to come down and meet her. “So what paper?”          
“ This one.” She handed it to him. “Found in Anne Darrow’s mouth but the words have been erased because of the saliva. My colleague thought she could count on you to find out what was written.”   
“ Yeah I may know a way to do this.” He stared at the paper in the plastic bag. “Anything else?”              
“ Well, Olsen drew some conclusions concerning our killer. She believes he is an orphan who was never adopted judging by the fact both the abducted kids were orphans”           
“ Both?” Nightwing frowned, surprised by the words. “Yeah. A little girl was confirmed missing this morning. Chloe Lagrange.”       
“ Why didn’t you tell me about this, earlier?” He growled, angry with the detective and with himself. Classical guilt. “Well, because I worked on the case all day as well.” She spat, not liking his tone at all. “Anyway, she also believes he had done this before considering his ‘modus operandi’. The killing of Jane was ‘very well calculated and conscientious. A professional work.' I’m just paraphrasing. He extracted her heart and liver and peeled off her face to sew it back like a real surgeon”   
“ Her face was peeled off?” His eyes widened. This detail was more important than Svoboda seemed to realise. “ Yeah… The guy is a real psycho”           
“ Yeah and I know only one criminal capable of this … Barton Mathis aka Dollmaker.”


	6. Stellar Collision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night was supposed to be great. A fun moment with friends in a club.
> 
> But when Dick and Terry finally meet, the night become everything except great for Josh.
> 
> Strange how stories seem to repeat themselves.

Humanity always had their believers: people who thought that something, someone, greater than them was responsible for their birth, their lives and their death. And as devout believers they imagined their deities as their superiors, as the embodiments of morals and ideals whether they were good or evil.

Kryptonian did the same. They believed in Rao The Father, Cythonna The Goddess of Ice, Vohc the Builder and later the First Heretic and of course the lovers Nightwing and Flamebird also known as the God of Rebirth and the Goddess of Destruction

On Krypton, everybody knew their story. Everybody knew what happened. The Love. The Betrayal. The Tragedy. After all, it was a beautiful legend.

###  _,Kryptahn,_ (Krypton) – Millennia Ago

The Kryptonian believers used to say that Vohc the Builder had been placed upon the highest crystalline mountain of Krypton by his Father, the Mighty Rao, so he would see the world he had helped him create getting destroyed by her sister and lover, Flamebird, who had been tasked to do so by their father. They used to say that the god never begged his sister to stop because he could only see the magnificence of her blazing wings as she was setting his creations on fire. The legend says her beauty and his love for her were what inspired him to create even greatest feats every day without an ounce of regret or anger.          
But one day, Vohc did the only thing he ever regretted in his divine life. He reunited light and darkness.  
Nightwing, his brother and a shadow god, could not reach the other Gods in the light, apart from Vohc, and thus was lonely. Feeling sorry for him, Vohc created a bridge between light and darkness, and so brought Nightwing and Flamebird together.       

“ _:Zrhueiao_ ” _Beautiful_ in Kryptonian. That was the only thing Nightwing could tell as Flamebird, in all her divine splendour, was burning the night sky, shining like the red sun in orbits around Krypton, her fire wings dazzling everything on her way or everyone that would dare to look, even him. He flew towards her like a shooting star, curious, eager to see her beauty from closer.       
When he finally reached her, she stopped moving. He did the same. And they stared at each other for a long time. Then, they got closer, their burning hearts attracting each other like magnets, and dared to touch. The feeling was so electrifying that it radiated in the darkness. And they forgot Vohc, blinded by the sparkling beauty of love. " _Ta- non rraop ju voiehd :dehdh i :zhao_ "  ( _Where have you been all this time, my love ?)_ She whispered, near his lips. " _Gem tiv dovrrosh._ " ( _In the shadow).  
_ That night, Nightwing understood he had found a new purpose: rebuilding what she would destroy, always by her side, for he knew he was her eternal soul mate. 

Believers used to say that that their love lightened the night sky so bright that night that the moon and the starry sky didn’t last. Non-believers said that it was just a stellar collision, two neutron stars bursting and merging to create a brighter star and that the light was simply due to the short gamma-ray bursts. But the others were sure of it: this was nothing science could explain.

It was the light of divine love.

###  The Future Club - Tiki District – Blüdhaven – Night - Nowadays

Neon shiny lights. Loud music. Blüdhaven is by far the greatest place to party on the east coast. Originally a whaling town, the city is now renown for its casinos, bars and nightclubs set up along the south pier, in the city centre and in the (in)famous district called Tiki District where it is more than easy to confuse regular villains and greedy partygoers.             
Dick didn’t really like the place. Last time he went there on mission he broke more than a few bones. So, obviously, when Wallace had suggested the place, he had been rather reluctant. “Come on, I know an awesome nightclub. Plus we promised Josh to hang out together.” He had said no at first but then Barbara had somehow convinced him to go, saying something like “it would be great to forget Nightwing for one night” and “just be Dick Grayson” and also that he looked “great in V-cut t-shirt”.  
And both she and Wallace were right. It felt good to let the suit in the drawer and the club wasn’t so bad. “See I told you this place was great” Wallace bragged as he took a sip of piña colada “And yes, we’re VIPs. Thanks to me. You’re welcome” Dick laughed when he noticed Helen roll her eyes, definitely exasperated. “You’re such a hotshot”           
“And there is the man!” Wallace yelled with a wild gesture as he noticed Josh coming, wearing a green t-shirt and some tight blue jeans, a glass of whisky in his hand. “Hey guys.”        
“ Oh no, don’t tell me your girl stayed home.” The architect laughed and shook his head. “No, she’s still at the bar.”           
“ Oh thank god.” Helen sighed as she pressed her hand on Dick’s thigh. He glanced at it very quickly but didn’t push her away. “At least I won’t be the only one he’ll tease tonight.” Dick chuckled politely and glanced at the dance floor where dozens of people were dancing and jumping, living the moment as if it was their last. But among the dozens of people, only one caught his eyes. Only her. Svoboda’s partner.

She was breathtakingly beautiful. Wearing a reasonably short cold-shoulder white dress, she was shining on the dance floor like a star. Quite a rather cheesy line but it was true. Nightclub black lights effect on white clothes. Though she didn’t need black light to be radiant. She only had to smile as she was endlessly apologizing to the people she was bumping into, trying to go through the dancing crowd without spilling her glass. And what a smile.  
“Excuse me.” Dick didn’t think about it twice. He got up, pushing away Helene’s hand without even realising it. “Where are you going, Dick?” Wallace asked, a bit confused to see his friend leaving like that without telling where he was going.          
“ Honey!” Josh called out as he placed himself right in front of Dick to wave. She looked straight at him and nodded. _What? No?_ Disappointment and shock froze Dick on the spot. And he watched her as she approached Josh. “Sorry. It took a little while.”             
“ No it’s okay. Don’t worry” He moved aside and took her hand. “Let me introduce you. Terry, this is Dick.”

When her green eyes met Dick’s blue eyes, her smile disappeared. She froze just like he had done before her. And he remained still. She stared at him. And he stared back. She felt suddenly rather weird. He felt suddenly hot. Both of them could feel an unexpected tension. Perhaps everyone could. It was palpable actually and quite uncomfortable. She gulped slightly. He rearranged quickly and discreetly the collar of his blue t-shirt. She rubbed her now-clammy hands. He extended his. “Hi” She glanced at it. He smiled, trying to be as cool as he could. “Hi”. She took his hand with a smile. Static electricity. “Ouch.” He said as he shook his hand. “Sorry.” She replied with a chuckle. They laugh. They feel better. There is a sparkle in their eyes.           
Josh cleared his throat, forcing Terry to set back her attention on him “And this is Helen and Wallace.” She smiled at both of them and shook their hands. “Nice to meet you.” But she couldn't help but discreetly glance back at the young man next to her. So weird to finally see him in person. That boy she had seen on TV as a child. The one who had lost his parents the same day she had lost hers. He had grown up into a fine handsome man. 

“What the hell, Wallace?” Terry focused back at the two friends when she heard Helen shout. She looked horrified, staring at Wallace as he was lighting a joint between his thin lips. “It’s cool.” Terry's eyes widened a bit, surprised by how at ease Wallace was and amused by her boyfriend’s shocked expression. Josh was so uptight and goody goody. “The cops raided this place last night. No chance they come back tonight.” Terry tried not to laugh as she pursed her lips and look for something to look at to avoid bursting into laughter. Glimpsing at Dick wasn’t the best thing to do since he was trying to stay serious as well. He looked at her with mischief in his gorgeous eyes and an amused big smile on the face. “Please tell him.” She looked back at Wallace who was smoking peacefully, slouched on the couch. “I’m a cop” He coughed and almost chocked on his smoke. “What?” And they all burst out laughing. Damn, it felt good.

Minutes passed. Hours passed. Everything was going great. The night was awesome. Terry had to admit it. Just sitting there, on the couch, seeing people, laughing, smiling and drinking, basically forgetting the horrors of the outside world was amazing and incredibly invigorating. Gosh, why hadn’t she done that sooner?  
“ Alright. Enough chitchat. Let’s dance!” Wallace clapped his hands as he stood up, rather unsteady, and began to move his hips in a funny way. He was so drunk. So was she, a bit. “You know how to dance?” Terry asked a bit dubious, as his sense of rhythm was rather wrong right now. “I’m an exotic dancer, girl. I’m Kid Delicious. Of course I can dance”     
“ You mean you’re a stripper?” Terry asked with a bubbly voice just to tease him. “What?” Wallace shouted. He hadn’t heard her.  
“ Ho. I’m going to stop you right there.” Dick said in Terry’s ear with a sweet chuckle. She bent her head to hear him better. God, she smelled good. Like ginger, lemon and flowers. “He attaches a lot of importance to what’s politically correct. Don’t tell him he’s a stripper. It’s like calling a checkout operator a cashier.”           
“ Tomayto, tomahto. But noted” She winked.     
“ What did you say, Dickie?” Wallace glowered at him. “Nothing.” He smiled as he took his glass in his hand. “I hope you were not criticizing my talent or my formidable vocation...” Dick glanced at Terry with a look that meant “See. I told you.” “… cause you don’t have half the talent I have when it comes to dancing in underwear.”             
“ What?” Helen, Josh and Terry asked almost in unison with shock and amusement in their eyes.        
“ Long story.” Dick hid his face behind his hands. “Yeah, but one that deserved to be told. One night he asked me to sneak him in a casino because of a girl. I said 'okay man, but you'll have to do a tiny little thing'. So, he ended dancing in Batman briefs for a client’s bachelorette party.” All of them burst out laughing except Dick. He was so embarrassed. What did he have to talk about that?      
“ I hope the girl was worth it, man. And that she liked bat-boxers ” Josh joked before he high-fived Wallace.  
“Oh come on. Like you never done anything stupid for a girl. May I remind you the time you signed up for Taekwondo classes claiming that you were ‘rather good’ just to spend time with me and how you ended up with a dislocated shoulder?” Terry asked with a sly smile.        
“ No. No need.” Josh blushed, embarrassed.              
“ You know taekwondo?” Dick grinned. “I’m a black belt.” She claimed, proud of herself and Dick’s smile widened. “But I stopped training two months ago.” She looked down. Her smile was gone. “You should totally come to the gym, then. I’m a martial artist myself.” Josh frowned but neither Dick or Terry noticed, too busy staring at each other, with large smiles on their faces. Was he hitting on his girl? Or was he just promoting his gym? He hoped it was the last but he couldn’t help but feel that was not true. After all, he had noticed the way they were occasionally looking at each other and laughing together. “If I find time for hobbies, I definitely will. Josh says you are an awesome teacher.”

That was too much. Josh stood up without forewarning and left without a word. All watched him leave, bewildered. “Someone’s jealous.” Helen said.  
“Excuse me.” Terry ran after him. “Josh.” She yelled in the middle of the dancing crowd, but he didn’t stop. Instead he kept rushing towards the exit. Terry accelerated, crossing the crowd with some difficulties, and finally caught him up on the car park. “What’s wrong?” She grasped his arm.  
“Really? You’re asking me that?” She frowned, perplexed, and he sighed, annoyed that she couldn’t realise what she had done “ Don’t you think I saw you with Dick … or even Wallace?”         
“ What? Saw me do what? This is insane.”    
“ You’re right. I’m insane!” He growled, looking for the car keys in his pocket.            
“ I didn’t say that.” She replied, pissed that he was distorting her words. He slammed the car door open and pointed his finger at her. “Honestly, Terry, I’m tired of your shit. I’ve been busting my ass to save our couple, to save us, to save you from yourself.” She looked down in silence, ashamed and guilty. Please don't talk about that, Josh. “I’ve been very forgiving. I quit my career. I left Metropolis. I followed you. Because I love you. And what did I get in return? … Nada.” He was right. She couldn’t defend herself. He sat down on the driver seat and started the Audi “You smile more to strangers than you do to me. You’re warmer around strangers than around me”       
“ It’s the alcohol, Josh. I’m …” He caught her short, tired of her petty excuses. “ You know what? We’ll talk about it tomorrow. I’m going home.” He slammed the door open and rushed off like a shot, almost hitting the car behind him.

She listened to the loud purring of the engine fading in the night as he was driving away. Obviously! She had to ruin the night! Like she always ruins everything! She cursed, with small tears in her eyes and kicked hard in the bin next to her. The heel of her stiletto broke instantly and she cursed even more. “Shit! Shit! Shit!” She repeated as she picked up the broken heel on the humid tarmac.            
“ Is everything alright?” She jumped and turned around to see Dick few steps behind her.     
“ How long have you been here?” Since the beginning, but far away not to be noticed or not to bother, but he couldn’t say that. “Not long. We were wondering if you guys had left.” Terry gestured at the empty parking spot. “Yeah I see.” Dick scratched his head and approached her. “If it is because of me…”           
“ No it’s not. It’s me. It’s always me. I’m kinda used to it now.” She sighed as she leant against the barrier bordering the sidewalk. Dick did the same and glanced at her with compassion. “Wanna talk about it?” She shook her head and they both remained quiet for a while. However, it wasn’t awkward. This silence was actually needed. “ Have you ever been in a toxic relationship?” She asked him. Dick thought about it for a few seconds. He had been in complicated relationships, but toxic? No, not really. So he shook his head. “I have… I am.”        
“ Trouble in paradise?”             
“ What paradise?” Terry scoffed “Our relationship is a total mess.”    
“ Then why are you staying?” Dick’s eyes widened when he realised what he had just said. “Sorry, that was inappropriate” But she didn’t seemed vexed or angry. “Actually, I’ve been wondering the same thing for a long time. Josh and I … I’ve been hurting him for too long. I broke him too many times. I dumbed him, more than once. He came back, every time. And we tried again and again. I wondered what was wrong with me to allow that. And then I realised that that was the only thing I was capable of. Destroying people’s life, including mine…”      
“ That’s not true. There are always two persons involved in a relationship so whatever happened or is happening, you’re not the only guilty… And you don’t destroy people’s life. That’s a crazy thing to say” She glanced at him. Their eyes met again. And in his eyes she could only see sincerity and compassion. What an incredible man he was. “You don’t know me and I didn’t know they were giving a psychology/ relationship counsellor diploma along with the cross trainer certificate.” Dick laughed.  
“ Let’s say I’m a good listener and my catastrophic experiences with women … which are not that numerous, please … made me learn a few things.” She chuckled. “By ‘not that numerous’ you mean ‘experiences with women’ or ‘catastrophic experiences’?”       
“ I won’t answer that.” He claimed, trying to be serious. “So Dick, tell me. If I don’t destroy people’s life, what do I do?”          
“ You save people, Detective Olsen. Not because it’s your job. But because it is undoubtedly in your nature” His words warmed her heart. She smiled genuinely in a way she hadn’t done in a long time. And suddenly life didn’t seem that dark and gloomy anymore. “You’re a real sunshine, Dick Grayson, do you know that?”  
" So are you when you smile like that." 

###  Fort Joseph District -  Blüdhaven – Two days later - Late afternoon

_“Astrophysicists observed the collision between two neutron stars two days ago which created a bright flash. But as they expected it to subside, it's still continuing to brighten after the event, leaving scientists stunned. According to data from NASA's Chandra X-Ray observatory, the aftermath of that collision is much more complex and interesting than anyone ever anticipated.”_

His dark blue eyes fixed on the pages of the monthly S.T.A.R Labs magazine, Colin Carter’s mind was wandering among the stars, dreaming of the day he would leave this hideous place in a star-spangled rocket, to infinity and beyond, to a better place where no one would call him a weirdo or a nerdy loser.

Walking along the quay, he didn’t notice a bunch of kids running towards him. They caught him by his blue backpack and made him fall hard on the ground, flat on his face, before running away laughing. “Loser!” The poor child stayed down for a short while. He didn’t cry because he knew that if he cried his dad would give him a good hiding once back home. So instead he sniffed loudly and just wiped his bloody chin. “There you go, buddy.” He felt two strong hands helping him getting back on his feet. When he looked up. A man was in front of him, smiling. “Thanks, sir” He nodded and adjusted his NASA cap on his head. The man kneeled and picked up the boy’s magazine “You like astronomy?”


	7. A Mother's Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Terry and Elise argue over the methods to use on their case, the body of eleven years old Colin Carter is found floating in the harbour. 
> 
> One more dead child on Nightwing's conscience and no sign of Barton Mathis, the potential killer. 
> 
> So it's time for Nightwing to do what he does best: work with allies.

### Blüdhaven Police Department – Two Days Later - Afternoon

“ _The tragedy is not to die, but to be wasted._ ” Terry read out loud with a hoarse voice. The manuscript-written words on that piece of thin fragile beige paper made her shiver as if a dreadful wind had blown in the department. She knew that reference. “It is from …”            
“ _Hannibal_ by Thomas Harris” She cut short Svoboda as she put the paper on her desk and hid her face in her hands to sigh. “ My _friend_ believes we are dealing with Barton Mathis, also known as Dollmaker.”          
“ Never heard of him.” But, just by listening to Svoboda’s serious tone, she could tell that it wasn’t good news. “He was the author of numerous crimes involving torture and cannibalism in Gotham few years ago before Batman caught him.”        
“ That would explain the note and Jane Antol’s missing organs.”       
“ Here is what Arkham sent us. Though it is mysteriously - but not that surprisingly - incomplete” Svoboda threw a red file on the desk. It was not that old judging by the whiteness of the papers but it was rather big nevertheless. On the cover, we could read a date next to the logo of the asylum: 11/23/2011. Such a big file for such a small amount of time. “But what we have seems to back up your hypothesis though I don’t think it will help us.”          
“On the contrary. The crime is always a representation of the criminal’s personality. By studying his _modus operandi_ I could check if his profile fits the crimes” Elise squinted, pretending to understand the Latin jargon. Academics and their gibberish. “What were you working on?”             
“ I’ve been trying to establish a list of recent adopted children in Blüdhaven for days since they seem to be his favourite victims.”   
“ Clever. We could use it to protect the children more efficiently from that sick bastard.” The oldest detective smiled, satisfied by the implication and the idea of her colleague. “Or set a trap” Elise’s smile vanished. Olsen couldn’t be serious.  
“ Oh hell no! No way we put another child’s life in danger!”     
“ I don’t like this either, Elise. Trust me. But if we just put the children under intensive watch then the killer is going to operate in another city and hurt many other children. We can stop him, here, now.” Elise blinked. She hadn’t heard what she had just heard. This was insane. She clenched her fists and breathed in deeply. “You don’t have children, do you?” Terry opened her mouth to answer but Elise didn’t allow her to do so. “It’s a rhetorical question.” She was clearly angry. “You may know a lot about criminals’ minds but you have no idea how much a mother cares, how she would do anything for her child. My daughter is the flesh of my flesh. So if a unsympathetic little bitch like you was asking me to use her as bait I would shoot her straight between the eyes.” Terry froze instantly, not knowing at all what to do or to say. And perhaps not saying or doing anything was best “No trap. Just establish that fucking list and go home.” She growled almost scaring poor Agent Johnson standing behind her, waiting for the opportunity to talk. “What are you doing standing here like a lemon, Johnson?”              
“ Sorry to bother you both but this is important. An officer just called. They apparently found a body, a child’s body.”

### Fort Joseph District– Blüdhaven – Afternoon

The crime scene had already been demarcated with a yellow barricade tape. And it had attracted journalists as a bunch of hungry vultures. They were jostling each other, harassing the police officers, just to be the first to get that so precious meaty information. _What happened? Who is the victim? Do you have suspect? How did it die? Is it linked to the mysterious children disappearances?  
_ “ Fucking scavenger!” Elise cursed, her jaw clenched, as she threw her still-burning cigarillo away. “I hate them all” Terry could understand that as she could also understand that journalist fever all too well. She had seen it in her mother. She was a goddamn devoted journalist, always ready to drive through the country to find the latest most incredible news, an undisclosed truth to reveal even if it meant going too far to do so. She believed that nothing should be kept from the world especially when politics and police officers were involved. Was she right, though?     
Svoboda passed under the band, followed by Terry, and both approached the rest of the team. “Bobby! What do we have?”  
“Young boy. Colin Carter. 11 years old. Missing since Monday apparently. The docker found his body floating near the quay. We guessed he drowned.”

Terry knelt to look at the child more closely. He strangely had a peaceful air on his pale face. You couldn’t see fear in his features or pain. It was like he was just sleeping. And there were no apparent traces of blood. That wasn’t a child who had endured a painful death. “Did you call the prosecutor?”  
“He’s on his way” Terry took a pair of plastic gloves and rolled up the child’s sleeves. He had bruises on his wrists. He had been tied up. He hadn’t drowned or if he had it was not accidently. She was sure of it. “Tell him to call the coroner for an autopsy when he arrives. This was no accident.”         
“Mathis?” Svoboda asked with a concerned look. “ Maybe. Let’s wait for the autopsy results first. I’m going back to the department study the files sent by Arkham and finish the list. Perhaps you should call your _friend_ ”

Elise watched Terry leave, impressed and also surprised (in a good or bad way, that she didn’t know) by her professionalism, by how well she could distance herself from all those atrocities. She was such a young cop. Young cops were supposed to be impulsive, hot-headed and somehow too emotionally involved in their career. And yet Teresa Olsen was acting as if all those murders were merely a routine, as if she had already seen so much to be whatsoever touched by this barbarism. She acted as if she was more experienced than her. She was calm. And that was strange, too strange.

### Grayson Cross Train Studio – Blüdhaven – Night

He wanted to hit things so badly. He wanted to scream. He wanted to let his anger burst. But he couldn’t. That wouldn’t be right. That wouldn’t be what Bruce would do. And even though, he didn’t want to be like his old mentor, he was raised to be smart enough to realise he needed to have the serene state of mind to resolve efficiently this awful case.  Showing emotions, being compassionate: yes. But letting emotions drive you when you’re probably facing a killer like Barton Mathis: no. He needed to think and he needed to do it clearly, however hard and unnatural it was for him.

He put on his black and blue costume and his domino mask and jumped from the window using his grapple gun, hoping that his wounded knee will not handicap him tonight. He should really take time to go see Alfred to fix him. But he didn’t know how. Here, that’s what made him like Bruce over again even though he didn’t want to. He sighed. Okay, what would Bruce not do? And what would Dick Grayson do?

Help. Dick Grayson would use help. Dick Grayson would rely on his friends and on allies. He wasn’t alone on that case so why working alone?

### Blüdhaven Police Department - Night

BPD was calm in the middle of the night. Just a few officers waiting for distress calls to relay, yawning with a mug of coffee in their hands. And Teresa Olsen, relentlessly typing on her computer in her personal office, like a night owl, her dishevelled hair in a messy bun hold by a simple pencil. Dick stared at her for a couple of seconds, with no professional reason, just because she was insanely beautiful. Stop gazing, you idiot. He jumped and landed on the windowsill and knocked after a short time of hesitation. What if she didn’t want to talk to him?           
She jumped slightly and turned around. “What the …?” She frowned, shocked but ultimately stood up to put down the door blind so that no one would see her open the window or him entering her office. “ What are you doing here, Nightwing?” She asked, confused    
“ May I come in?” She moved aside and let him in without a word. “I need your help, Olsen”            
“ How do you know my name?”          
“ Svoboda told me.” Her lips shaped into a ‘oh’ but no sound came out. Obviously, Elise told him. Stupid question. “She also told me you had Mathis’ file from Arkham as well as a potential list of children recently adopted in Blüdhaven.”            
“ So that’s why you’re here. To steal my work?” She frowned, not liking what he was insinuating. He noticed it. “No. No. I’m not here to do that. I just wish to have a look at those documents.” That didn’t sound better. “ Oh so you want to sneakily steal my work.”  
“ No… Huh… Let me say it correctly.” He looked briefly for his words. “ You and Svoboda are working alone on this case. So am I. You have information that I don’t have. And I have information that you don’t have. So what I’m suggesting is that we should work together, team up” He smiled slightly but genuinely but she remained sceptical. “Why me? Why not Svoboda? After all, you usually work with her.”  _Because I want you … to work with me… right, work with me._  
“ Well it appears you’re leading the duo and I believe it’s your list, right?” She cocked her head with another frown and approached him slowly, trying to perceive his eyes, his emotions, behind his mask, in vain. “What do you have that would interest me, Nightwing?” He discreetly gulped because of the sudden proximity. “ I know quite a lot on Barton Mathis.”    
“ And what if it isn’t Barton Mathis?”   
“ Then I’m sure you’ll figure it out. But to do so, you need a complete file and I’m afraid I’m the only one that know what’s missing in this” He nodded towards the red file opened on her desk. She remained silent for a while and then sighed. “Fine. But if you double cross me or use me I’ll …”  
“ I won’t. Scout’s honor” He crossed his fingers with a wide smile that made her chuckle and blush. He saw it, flattered.

And so he told her everything he knew, about Mathis, his childhood, and his killing sprees. He told her that, as a child, he used to go on several human ‘hunting trips’ with his father and that during his hunts young Mathis watched his father killing people and cannibalizing them. But then his father died, shot down by Detective James Gordon from the GCPD, andafter that he spent a year in foster care, before coming back as Dollmaker, a serial killer who creates "dolls" out of the skin and limbs of his victims. Nightwing told her about his mask too, how it is partially made of the father’s skin, how much he smelt like a dead body that had been rotting in the sun. He mentioned also Batman and how he had caught him when he was killing people in Gotham. This bloody gory story had made her shiver uncontrollably and wanted to puke. With a pale face and a trembling hand she grabbed the glass of water on her desk to drink a little. “You’re okay?”        
“ Yeah, just trying to … That man is a psychopath.”  
“ You live near Gotham now. Here, we don’t have alien invasions or deadly metahumans as in Metropolis. We have crazy clowns and deranged killers.” She nodded in silence and thanked him for his information. “Well I believe you’re right. It is highly probable we are dealing with this Dollmaker. But there are things that I don’t understand. The little boy found today, Colin Carter, his body was intact apart from bruises on his wrists. That doesn’t make any sense especially after that paper found in Jane’s stomach that clearly read ‘ _The tragedy is not to die, but to be wasted.’”_  
“ I know. I’m still trying to figure out why as well.”       
“According to the files, Dollmaker is characterized as smart and ambiguous. Perhaps he used Colin as a way to cover his tracks.”            
“ Or there is another killer.” Nightwing suggested as he leant against the desk. “ Someone that would know about Mathis being back.”     
“ … and that would know about the ‘orphan kids’ thing? The therapists in Arkham described him as lonely and asocial. A man like that would not talk about his misdeeds to anyone that could compromise him. Which is also the reason why he may have killed Jane Antol. There must be something else.”    
“ I don’t know, Olsen.” He sighed as he leant against her desk. She stared at him. He looked exhausted and she couldn’t help but notice the weird pulsation in his knee. He was hurt. “ There” She said as she gave him a paper. “That’s the list. 15 children. See what you can do with that.”        
“ Thank you” She smiled and whispered a “you’re welcome” almost inaudibly. They suddenly went both silent. They stared at each other, right in the eyes, so deeply Nightwing wondered if she could see the blueness of his eyes through his mask the same way he was gazing at her pretty intense green eyes. “I should go. Thanks again for the list.”              
“ Where are you going?” She grabbed his arm before he climbed off the window. The touch made him slightly shiver but it was pleasant. “Investigate on Colin. I’ll tell you if I find something.”      
“ I hope so. That’s what team up mean, right?”          
“ Yeah. Good night, Detective.”          

### Fort Joseph District – Blüdhaven – Same Night

The day Bruce took him in, Dick understood how lucky he was despite his misfortune. Unlike many orphans in Gotham, like Jason Todd, he didn’t sleep in the street or have to steal to survive. He was immediately placed in a care centre and he didn’t even stay long. Hell yeah, few weeks after he was literally living in a manor with a billionaire who was secretly a famous badass vigilante and a butler who was perhaps even more badass.  So no, nothing to complain about.       
And Dick was still conscious of that – even though the small green shorts and pixie boots could the perfect exhibits to put together a dossier on child abuse.

“ I already told everything I know to the police. I already told you a lot. I can’t do this anymore”         
“I know you did, Mrs Carter, but I’m afraid I still have to ask you a few questions.” The woman was sobbing loudly, sit on the old burgundy leather sofa. Her body was shaking. Her eyes were reddened because of the tears. And her face was marked with exhaustion and fear. Yet she nodded and found the inner strength to do what she was asked. “ I know Colin was last seen at school but could you tell me what route does he take to come back home.”        
“ He usually walk along the quay. It takes more time but he does it to avoid the bullies from school.”  
“ Bullies?”        
“ Colin is a … very special kid. He’s a bit lonely and asocial and very dreamy. He loves physics and astronomy. Every Monday, he goes buying the new Star Labs magazine to read it to me when he come back home …” She cried out and put her hand over her chest as if someone was tearing her heart out of her chest. Nightwing lowered his eyes, deeply touched by this broken mother. “I want my son back.” She begged between her tears and her moans. “ Is there anyone that can stay with you, tonight?” She shook her head and he found it strange especially because he could see some men stuff in the living room. “Where is your husband?”       
“ Probably at the casino or passed out on a bar.”       
“ He’s an alcoholic?” She nodded, ashamed. “Does he often go to the casino?” She nodded again. Dick frowned. How could a child be placed in the same house as a man who had trouble with money and alcohol? “What he always this way?”    
“No. He’s been like this since the day he was fired.”    
“Big job?”         
“No, nothing extraordinary. Just a job at the old salt factory. The city hall thought it was better to turn it into a seaside resort. Everyone was fired.”            
“ So, how did you adopt Colin? Wasn’t it difficult judging by …”         
“Our lack of money?” He didn’t want to say it like that, but yes. “Colin’s mother gave birth anonymously. A friend of mine was working at the hospital and she knew how much we wanted a child. She used her relations to help us adopt Colin. We are no rich folks but who needs money to love?”  


	8. Follow Me Through Memory Lane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dick and Terry meet again and decide to spend some time together to learn more about each other.
> 
> But what could have been a fun moment turns quickly into a nightmare.
> 
> Who said they could escape their case for one day?

### Melville Park Coffee – Halyard Street – Blüdhaven – Late Afternoon

When you become a hardworking detective like Teresa Olsen, you must be prepared to suffer from what the common people would call “sleep deprivation” or “lack of sleep”. Though for Teresa Olsen the proper word would be “insomnia” and the difference is that insomnia contrary to sleep deprivation is never a choice. Insomnia is simply lying in bed, looking at the ceiling and being unable to shut your eyes for some reason. Insomnia gives you time to ponder on those reasons and so Terry found explanations to her sleeping disorder. She had a brain that refused to move on, that was permanently turned towards the past.          
Late at night, she would often think about what happened – emphasis on the ‘ed’ – and wonder why it happened and why she hadn’t been able to fix it and how she could have prevented it and why she couldn’t help but feel guilty. Eventually, those questions would often remain unanswered and she would take advantage of her insomnia to work relentlessly.     
But your body always reminds you when something is wrong. Headaches and yawns and tendencies to take a nosedive. That’s probably why coffee was invented.         

How many had she had already? Three? Four? Maybe five, she supposed now that she was trying to remember how many times she had raised her hand to ask for a refill without looking away from her laptop screen.

She had taken shelter in this coffee because she needed another atmosphere, a place warmer and more welcoming without the sound of printers and phones endlessly ringing or the perpetual view on the dirty grey city block. Here, there was the delicious smell of hot coffee and pastries, the view on the green park and the sound of calm rock music that fitted the place so well and that she couldn’t help but hum and discreetly dance to, sitting on her chair.

She suddenly turned around when she felt like she was being watched. She gasped and jumped slightly but immediately smiled when she heard Dick Grayson’s sweet laugh. “Oh my god you scared me.”       
“ I’m sorry… but don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. I won’t tell anyone you’re dancing to Nirvana as you work on your cases, detective.” He laughed as he imitated her terrible moves. “Hey, don’t laugh. Let me have my moments of joy and quiet even if the moments are completely inappropriate”  
“ Well, I suppose appropriate moments are rather rare.”         He sat down in front of her with a coffee and she moved her stuff away. “They are”              
“ Perhaps you should take time to have some. Take a day out sometime. You look exhausted.”   
“ So do you.” He pursed his lips. “ Yeah, I know. I look terrible. Managing a gym is harder than expected. This work demands me more time than I thought.”        
“ Really? Cause when I saw those huge dark circles I thought it was because of some late night activities.” She took a sip of coffee without breaking eye contact. He frowned, not sure to understand what she meant. Fortunately, she kept on talking. “Seriously, I had the same dark circles when I thought I could spend the night awake with Josh and be ready to work in the morning.”              
“Oh” He finally got it. “No, I don’t have that kind of late night activities … or any late night activities at all. I barely go out. Hell, I don’t even know how I got time to sit in the park this morning. My work is the only one to blame for those dark circles ”             
“ Really? I thought you and Helen …” He frowned. “No … no, no, no. Helen is a nice girl but no.”  
“ Cause she looked quite into you at the party.”           
“ Yeah, well, you’re not the first person to tell me that. But no, I have no one in my life at the moment, contrary to you. I’m sure your boyfriend undoubtedly waits for you every night when you come back from work.”  
“ Yeah.” She confessed, timidly. “ With a nice meal on the coffee table, some wine and a good movie, generally a romantic one so that he can show me how badly he wants to have sex before I push him away saying the lamest excuse like ‘ I need to brush my teeth’ … And that’s really rude. I shouldn’t even talk about my sexual life that. Not to you. What a bitch I am. I can’t say that kind of thing. And it’s your fault, too. Why do you have such a trustworthy face?” He blocked a chuckle between in lips, amused by her embarrassment and the way she was talking so quickly but at the same time he could tell that this was serious. She wasn’t happy, not with Josh. “ Want to get a bite to eat?”       
“ With you?”   

### BatBurger – Woolrich Avenue - Blüdhaven – Evening

“ I didn’t know this thing existed. Robin nuggets? Killer Crocque monsieur?” Terry read out loud a bit intrigued by the menu of the fast food restaurant and the Batman costume the waiter was wearing. “It opened few months ago in Gotham and now it’s in the Blüd. I thought you needed to see this.”   
“Why?”   
“ To show you that not everyone dislike masked vigilantes in this city unlike what you may have heard at the department.” He admitted with a serious tone that disturbed her. “ It sounds like the subject is huge matter to you.”        
“ Well it is. I lived in Gotham and now I live in Blüdhaven. I am more than aware of what cities like these ones need.”           
“ What? Vigilantes to fight crimes at night, to replace police officers?” He shook his head and nodded towards two children. “Hope and joy” Dick pointed at a little boy playing with a Nightwing toy with his sister who was holding a Robin doll. They were laughing and making weird fight noises. Terry smiled. Such cuteness and innocence were adorable. “No but less seriously, you have to try their jokerized fries. They are to die for.” He laughed.    
“ You know, I have nothing against Nightwing, or vigilantes in general. I’m not like the other cops. I know that we are far from perfect that some of us are rotten to the bone. And I’m glad that there are some people out there that can help the good ones to bring justice, to save people when no one else can” She could have cried if she had allowed herself to do so. Instead she tried not to blink to keep the tears in her eyes. But Dick had noticed them anyway. It worried him. “Are you okay?”  
“ What will you have?” The waiter asked, definitely not happy to work here judging by the look on his face. Terry hesitated for an instant, a bit confused. “ I’ll have jokerized fries and … Night Wings? … and a coke. Never have enough caffeine.” She tried to smile but pictures of flames and ashes were contaminated her mind, as well as the screams of her parents and hers.          
“ Yeah … uh … Same for me.” Dick said. “You know what? Let’s take the food away. I know a good place not far from here.”      

### Blüdhaven Fair – East Pier – Blüdhaven – Late Evening

“Isn’t this illegal? I mean, it’s basically a private property” Terry claimed as she watched Dick climbed the fence around the closed fair with an outstanding agility. “Yeah. Well, if they don’t want me to sneak in there they should probably open it all year and not just in summer.” He chuckled and landed not so gracefully with a low grunt. “You’re okay?” She worried.             
“Yeah. Just hurt my knee at the gym few days ago.” Terry furrowed her brows for an instant trying to figure out why this wound was so disturbing to her. “Careful” Dick said as he approached the fence with a ladder he had glimpsed by the old cotton candy machine. “Okay, this should help …” He didn’t have time to finish his sentence that the girl was already on the top of the fence. She had mimicked his moves perfectly – run up, jump, catch, climb. “I’m good.” Dick’s blue eyes widened, definitely impressed. She jumped and landed next to him. “Yeah. I can see that.” He smiled.             
“Do you often come here?”      
“Sometimes. When I can actually. I was born in a circus. This place … it brings back good memories … It sorta makes me feel like I’m home again.” He sat on the edge of a colourful carousel and watched the place, imagining himself back at Hayley Circus. The music. The lights. The laughs. The smell of popcorn, peanuts and toffee apples.       
“ How do you do that? Thinking about the good things only?” She wondered as she sat by his side. He glanced at her. Did she know? “I know. What happened with your parents, I know.” He didn’t say a word for a moment. “Well, to be honest, I don’t always do that. Sometimes, I can’t help but seeing them falling again. But I’ve learned that it must not be the only memory of them I must keep… How do you know about my parents?”               
“ I remember seeing it on TV when I was a child.” She confessed as she could remember every second of that night. “My parents died on the same night.” Dick hadn’t seen that one coming. He remained silent. Astonished. Shocked even. Saddened. Sympathizing. He knew how it felt. So he just grabbed her hand. She shivered and closed her eyes. “ I’m sorry.” His voice was soft and reassuring lust like his hand holding hers. “Though that is certainly something you’re tired of hearing.”         
“ I guess that’s the natural thing to say. I don’t blame you.” She smiled lightly.          
“ What happened to them?”      
“ We were supposed to have a simple family board game night when a fire started in my dad’s laboratory in the basement. Somehow, Superman protected me, shielded me, but my parents … They died in the explosion“ Dick lowered his eyes.      
“Is that what you meant, early on, when you talk about cops and vigilantes?” She nodded.   
“He saved me. I could have died along with my parents. But he saved me contrary to the firemen or the cops that arrived minutes later. That’s why I believe that we need vigilantes or superheroes, whatever you want to call them. But I don’t blame the cops or the firemen for being too late. I don’t blame Superman either for not saving my parents. On the contrary, I’m thankful. Because without him I wouldn’t be here today, saving lives the best way I can. Because that night he not only saved me but he gave me hope and a reason to live. At least that’s what I tell myself when I’m having a surprising rather good day.” It was weird, listening to her saying those words, the almost very same word he was used to saying as well. It was weird finding someone so similar to him. “And I turned a nice night into a therapy.” She chuckled nervously, trying to let go of his hand.  
“No. You didn’t.” He tightened his grip. “It feels nice to hear that we are not alone in this world.” Their eyes met. And they stare at each other as if they were looking at themselves in a mirror. The trauma. The pain. The will to move on, to be happy. The desire to do good, to be better. And most of all, this sympathy and this strength. The strength of two survivors who know what it means to lose the ones they love and to live with that. “Are you gonna finish your fries?” Dick asked. She laughed genuinely. “No. Go for it.”  It was great meeting someone like that.      

“ Do you think we can do another illegal thing?” She asked with a cheeky smile.         
“ I don’t know. I might denounce you to the cops, detective.” He grinned, showing his perfect white teeth. “What do you have in mind?”      
“ Follow me.” She winked and rushed towards the Ferris wheel, laughing like a little girl. Dick did the same as he ran after her and watched her breaking in the booth to start the ride. “You can’t be serious.”             
“I’m always serious.” This was crazy. She was crazy. But it felt good, being reckless and childish for a moment. “Do you know how to …” Dick pressed a green button and the wheel lighted up instantly, colouring the night sky in shades of gold and red. “ I’ll say we have possibly thirty minutes before the police show up.” Dick said as he pushed another button to start the ride. “So let’s make the most of it.” He grabbed her hand again and they ran towards a basket.           
“Ladies first” She sat down and he joined her. Slowly they started going up without saying a word, admiring the neon cityscape before them and listening to the joyful circus music. _He floats through the air with the greatest of ease the daring young man on the flying trapeze…_ “I used to listen to this song with my parents. It was kind of our song.” He confessed with a smile as the ride stopped for a moment once they were at the top. Terry glanced at him, admiring the soft young features of his face and the movement in his black hair. How could a man be so gorgeous? He felt her gaze on him and watched her too, the lights reflecting in her beautiful blond hair, the green shade of her eyes and her rosy lips. _His actions are graceful. All the girl he does please._ If he could stop time right now he would, so would she. Cause this, all this was just perfect. _  
_ Dick approached her slowly. He knew this was wrong. She had a boyfriend. But he wanted it so bad. Just a taste. She let him approach. She didn’t move even though her mind wanted to. There was this voice screaming in her head. Don’t. But her heart was whispering. Do.              
_And my love he has stolen away._  
He was so close, so close she could feel his hot breath against her lips and the smell of his woody perfume in the nape of his neck. The proximity was killing her.               
An exquisite warmth invaded Dick’s body the second she put her hand on his thigh to come closer to his body. How much he craved that. Yes, lean closer. Closer. Clos…

A scream made them both jump and looked down. “What the …?”They glanced at each other with worry and incomprehension in their eyes. The scream pierced the air yet again, shrill and full of terror. “Heeelllp!!”       
“ It’s a child.” Terry’s heart stopped. She needed to do something. She needed to get off this wheel. She looked down but realised she was still too high. No, not again. She grabbed her phone and dialled 911. “Come on, answer!”  
“Stay here.” Dick ordered “What?” But he didn’t say anything else and climbed off the basket to jump. Terry screamed when she saw him fall but he caught hold of a metallic bar and kept on climbing down the big wheel, jumping again and again, as if he wasn’t even scared. Maybe he wasn’t. “Dick!” She shouted once he was down. “Don’t worry for me. Call the cops.”           
“Damn it” She cursed.

Dick ran as fast as he could taking off his clothes to reveal his Nightwing suit. He jumped back the fence and arrived on the main road just in time to see a young brown-haired boy being forced to enter a black SUV, another man with a black hood holding him tightly by the arm. “Hey!” Dick shouted and the man looked at him briefly before throwing the kid in the car trunk. “Drive, you idiot. Drive!” Dick ran even faster. He knew his chances to stop the car were low but he would try anyway.   
The car engine started loudly, ready to take off at full throttle. Nightwing jumped and caught the man’s leg before he could enter the car but the car left anyway, with the kid inside. But before it went out of sight, he took a look at the licence plate - FAE-5954 – still keeping the man down on the ground using his entire body. “You’re not going anywhere.”

Terry arrived at that moment. “Nightwing!!” She yelled as she approached him with her gun in her hand. “Hello, detective. Good to see you. Do you have cuffs?” She put back her weapon in her holster and hand him a pair of handcuffs. “Who’s that?”     
“ An accomplice. And he’s going to talk. Right?” He said as he handcuffed him very tightly . “Go to hell.” The man spat with a grunt of pain.          
“And the kid?” Terry asked, worried. Nightwing lowered his head. He was feeling guilty. She could tell. “Gone. But we’ll find him. We have to.” She nodded and suddenly red and blue lights shone in the street. The cars stopped and policemen started to point their guns at Nightwing. “Don’t move!” The vigilante sighed in exasperation.     
“ It’s okay, officer. Lower your weapon.” Terry ordered to calm the situation a bit. “And take that man.” She pushed the criminal towards the policemen who escorted him to a car.    
“ I will need to interrogate him.” Nightwing said as he grabbed Terry’s arm. “And I will let you do so, I swear.” He released her. “FAE-5954. It’s the licence plate. See what you can do with that.”      
“ Thank you… Hum, that may sound stupid but … haven’t you seen a man …dark haired with blue eyes … right before the …” Dick tried to hide his smile. She was looking for him. “Yes I have. I told him to go away. I think he ran back to the fair.”      
“ Weird. I haven’t seen him on the way.”           
“ Detective, we should go back to the department.” An officer said, waiting impatiently by his car “And Nightwing, just let’s pretend you weren’t here.”         
“ Perhaps you could be more polite, officer. He got the killer’s accomplice.”      
“ Perhaps. But where’s the kid?” Nightwing glowered at the man, not appreciated his tone and his resentment. “One man can’t save a city on his own. Just let us do our job, Nightwing.”          

He was right. He couldn’t save Blüdhaven alone. But who said he had to be alone?             
That’s what went through Terry’s mind.


End file.
